First planeload of Syria, Islamic State refugees to arrive in Toronto on Thursday

OTTAWA – The first planeload of Syrian refugees from camps in Jordan and Lebanon will arrive in Canada on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

Another planeload will arrive in Montreal on Saturday, he told legislators.

The Liberal government plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year and a further 15,000 by the end of February. Officials say the refugees on the first planeloads will be mostly or entirely privately sponsored.